East Kalimantan BPBD ensures rapid response to hotspot handling
The Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) of East Kalimantan Province has assured a rapid response from the joint team to handle dozens of hotspots that could potentially trigger the expansion of forest and land fires.
“Based on today’s monitoring in the field, we recorded the presence of 24 hotspots spread across several districts,” said Head of East Kalimantan BPBD Buyung Dodi Gunawan in Samarinda on Friday.
He explained that Paser Regency is currently the area with the highest concentration of forest and land fire distribution compared to other regions.
Besides the Paser area, his office is also closely monitoring fire handling in Berau Regency, which continues to be responded to swiftly by officers in the field.
“We continue to strengthen patrols and keep at least ten personnel on standby in each team, assisted directly by TNI soldiers, police officers, and village volunteers,” he explained.
The regional government is also observing fluctuations in hotspot emergence when comparing historical data on land fire recapitulation over the past several years.
East Kalimantan hotspots during August 2026 have surpassed the record during El Niño in August 2015. Up to 19 August 2026, BMKG recorded 9,861 hotspots in East Kalimantan, exceeding the 9,793 hotspots throughout August 2015.
“The surge in hotspot emergence in the previous year serves as an evaluation for us to continue keeping response posts on standby down to the site level,” Buyung added.
Efforts to control hotspots in the field are often hampered by limited road access, making it difficult for water tanker fleets to reach locations directly.
“Our officers are forced to use portable knock-down water tanks and connect hoses up to 200 metres long to wet the land,” he stressed.
The regional government is now also drafting a proposal for a weather modification operation to wet fire-prone land areas as well as fill residents’ agricultural reservoirs, especially in the Nusantara Capital City area.
The weather modification strategy is believed to be able to reduce the risk of new hotspots emerging amid the significant challenge of unpredictable wind direction shifts.